Cookies 'n Cream
by Wolfe's Princess
Summary: Sten & Kadaani battle their desires and a whole host of darkspawn. First FanFic, and I'm bad at summaries! M Rating for a reason! R&R, please! In progress.
1. Chapter 1 Basic attractions

She listened to their stories around the campfire: Zevran's kills on the road, the men Leliana had seduced, life in the Chantry as Alistair learned to be a templar, Wynne living in a tower held under Chantry control, Oghren being a respected warrior and a wife who loved him. The only thing she didn't hear was Sten and his stories. _That's because he is never one to talk about personal things without being drawn out._ She knows this and yet she still wants to know him better.

Kadaani excused herself and walked to Sten's tent where she knew he would be sleeping. She pulled out a small totem statue she had found in the Temple at Haven and gently laid it outside the flap. She turned to head to the river for a short clean up swim when a hand shot out of the dark and grabbed her arm.

"Thank you, kadan. Is it you that left the painting of the girl the day before yesterday?" Sten was standing with his hair slightly tousled from sleep, but alert as ever.

"Yes. I thought you might enjoy them. I…I hope I didn't wake you. I know you have second watch." _Of course second watch is the most difficult; going to sleep early, waking up for watch, and then trying to get back to sleep._ She kept staring at his thick hair, enjoying the site of it loose in their braids.

"It is time for me to get up anyway. Are you headed to the river? Do you need some company?" Sten asks, sounding bored.

_What would he say if I said yes?_ Kadaani thought laughingly. "No, I am fine. Thank you, though."

She could feel him watching her as she walked through the trees to the river. He seemed to be acting a little strangely the last couple of days; more attentive. Perhaps he is watching to see when I "fall." Still, Kadaani liked him a great deal. He was a very interesting man.

After bathing and washing some of her clothes, socks, and under things, Kadaani heads back to the camp. She thinks she will hang her socks, tunic, and pants by the fire; and her unmentionables inside her tent. She pops into her tent to grab her brush and hang up her clothes, then, heads to the fire to hang the rest and dry her hair.

_Everyone seems to be in their tents_, Kadaani thinks. But then she sees Sten over talking with Shale. _That is a very funny friendship. Ah, well._ She grabs her line and hangs it next to the fire and puts up her clothes, then sits next to the dead tree Shale had brought to the fire to brush her hair.

She feels Leliana sit behind her and smiles as she puts the brush in the waiting hand.

Starting off with, "You know he is attracted to you, do you not?" The Orlesian begins brushing Kadaani's hair.

"Hmm? Who is attracted to whom?" Kadaani loves it when Leliana brushes her hair; it makes her think of days when she was a young girl and her mother would brush her hair each night.

"Sten...attracted to you…did you not know this?"

Kadaani laughed. "Sten…? Really? How can you tell something like that?" Thoughts and mad desires only half formed fought to take precedence in Kadaani's mind.

"Ahhh…I see. No, you did not. He cares for you, but not in the way you would like. However, his desire matches yours, I think, in other ways. Be wary, I would not see you hurt in this."

"What do I do, Lel? Should I do anything? I have a duty, and… **ARGH!** There is always duty; duty to my family, my country, my friends. When is there time for any kind of duty to me? Help me…" But Kadaani cannot find the words for what she wants or needs.

Although she dislikes the qunari, Leliana knows that he is trustworthy, honest, and much softer than he appears. "I cannot tell you what to do, but I can tell you that your personality is all it will take. Your softness and hardness is what attracts him to you; it is the contradictory traits in your character. Do not orchestrate anything; rather, let circumstances take you where they will."


	2. Chapter 2 Hugs gone awry

Stepping out of her tent, Kadaani sees everyone by the fire. She feels refreshed for having taken a bath in the waterfall downstream in the river. What a wonderful feeling being **clean** when stuck on the road! She walks over to the ever present tree that Shale has brought over and seats herself on the only available seat, between Zevran and Sten.

Zevran smirks at her while shifting a little closer and whispers, "Ahhh, I see you are thinking about my offer. You have bathed and put on... perfume. Mmmm…delicious."

"That means a lot coming from someone who enjoys the smell of a tannery," she shoots back.

He leans in a little closer and smells her hair while lifting a hand behind her back. "Do it and I will cut off your hand." Kadaani says curtly.

He just chuckles and settles his hand on the log behind her. Kadaani shifts minutely toward Sten. Sten turns to look at her, furrowing his brow slightly. Kadaani is tempted to get up and sit on the ground, but leaves it for the moment while waiting for Alistair to finish cooking dinner.

"Have you decided where we are off to next? The Arl's son cannot wait forever." Alistair inquires.

Kadaani frowns, "We'll go to the Circle, as we previously discussed."

Zevran chuckles. "Ahh, the Circle will be fun! An apostate, a former templar, an assassin, a giant, a former lay sister, and an orphan Lady all entering to ask for help!" He quips.

"Shut your mouth! Don't say…don't say…" Kadaani gets up and walks to the edge of the trees.

"Foolish elf! Whatever made you do that!? Damnable Antivan!" Alistair gets up to go to Kadaani when, Sten motions him back and rises to go.

"You are cooking. Finish and I will check on the Warden." He stalks away.

"Fat lot of help he will give. Stoic bastard." Alistair complains to the pot.

It doesn't take Sten long to find Kadaani as she hasn't gone far. He finds her attacking a tree with a willow switch. He admires her form, then clears his throat and asks if she is well.

"Do I damn well look fine to you?" She mutters angrily.

Yes freezes on his tongue, and he asks instead, "Do you wish to talk? I am not unwilling if you have need to."

"No…I, yes, I mean…no. No, thank you." She keeps beating the tree.

"Exactly what are you doing, kadan?"

"Fighting ghosts. Sten, can you not leave me be?" She asks, exasperated.

"Do you ever leave me be?" he retorts.

Kadaani chuckles softly, the sound lightening the grim expression on Sten's features. "Fine. You want to talk, so talk." She turns to him. Her face is mottled from crying and she is flushed from her exertions with the tree. Yet, she still has an undeniable beauty.

"You cannot listen to the ravings of the Crow. He neither knows nor cares for your past or your duty."

"Do not offer me platitudes. I know who I am and what I am. I also know it is not what I was meant to be." Kadaani spits. "You speak of duty, yet you gave up once while your duty waited for you. You made a mistake, a family paid for it, and you **quit**. I am responsible for so much more than this small company; I have a duty to Fereldan, to get the allies and warriors to fight this blight. I have nothing, NOTHING, but duty left to me! Please, just leave me be. I cannot talk to you; you do not understand."

Sten walks toward her, his eyes alight with anger and something else she can't quite discern. He grabs her shoulder to stop her fighting, and then she is fighting with him. She pulls his arm behind him and attempts to raise it between his shoulder blades. He pulls free easily and counters with a foot sweep. She hops and, when he stumbles, punches him in the solar plexus. He grunts quietly and finally gets her arms in his grasp. He pulls her to him and pushes both arms behind her back.

He looks down and sees the quiet desperation in her eyes, and with a groan and a muttered oath, bends to kiss her. She is still fighting and bites his lower lip just hard enough that they both taste his blood. Then she slumps and lowers her head.

"I cannot do this anymore. I cannot fight you and the group and everyone else at once. I just want to rest..." There are tears in her voice.

When Sten lifts her chin, he sees the moon mirrored in her tear-filled eyes, but, as is her way, she does not allow them to fall.

"You find the strength every day, every hour, every minute, and every breath that you are alive. You have the strength of mind, of body, and the determination to see it all through. You are a true warrior; a warrior of heart and spirit. Do not quit. Do not give up…like…like I did."

She looks up and sees the sadness in his eyes. He releases her arms and readies himself to turn away when she grabs him around the waist.

"What are you doing?" he asks.

"Giving you a hug." She shoots back.

"A hug? What is 'a hug'? I do not know this word."

"A hug is a show of affection between two people, typically comrades or friends." She answers softly, while holding him around his middle.

She looks up into his face and realizes she has never been so close. Nor has she ever smelled him before; something between a musky sweat and cookies and it smelled _good_. She pressed forward slightly and felt his hand upon her back. She simply rests her head on his chest and rests her mind.

As they stand there, he hesitantly rubs her back. Kadaani gets up the nerve to move her hands gently up his back and as she reaches, her breasts are pressed into his stomach. She feels him inhale sharply, and then softly scrapes her nails down his back. Her hands are trembling as she feels his muscles tighten.

"What are you trying to do to me? What do you **want**?!"

Kadaani doesn't answer; she simply reaches up and pulls his head down to hers for a whisper soft kiss. She feels his mouth move inquiringly over her own and when he runs his tongue across her lips, she gasps. He uses the opportunity to plunge his tongue into her mouth; plundering almost violently. His mouth was soon everywhere at once, kissing her mouth, suckling her ear, and nuzzling her neck. Kadaani was so filled with desire and need that she didn't know how she was still standing.

Sten picked her up and walked her towards to the trees behind them. She moaned as he pressed her against the tree; trying to fight the desperate desire raging through her. Sten was ravishing her mouth and her neck. With her head flung back, Kadaani didn't realize that Leliana was walking by until she heard a gentle cough.

"You may want to take that somewhere else if you don't want to be interrupted again," she said with laughter in her voice. "After all, this **is** where you decided to make the loo." She walked further in, giggling all the while.

Sten looked down at Kadaani with a question in his eyes. She licked her lips, tasting him. Sten watched her tongue and his eyes darkened.

"I want you." was all he said; she could feel the entire the length of him pressed against her. Her mouth was suddenly dry.

"I want you, too…" and Sten pulled her up to his mouth to kiss her again. "Wait…"

"What? You want me, I want you. What is wrong?" He asked curtly.

"I…I have never…I am frightened…" She stuttered while looking down.

Sten released her. As she slid down his body, she felt the tension in him.

"I…I'm sorry, Sten. I…don't know what to do."

He stared at her for a minute and finally said "I cannot do this. It is unnatural. You are a woman and yet you are not. Do not tempt me so again." He said harshly. But, he was still holding her.

Kadaani was near tears, her breath tight in her chest, when her anger erupts.

"You kissed me first! Do not speak to me of 'unnatural!' Just forget it happened. I will." She ground out. With that, she tore out of his hands and stalked to the camp and flew into her tent.

"Hmm, that was **not** well done." Leliana's voice came from the darkness. "I don't really believe that you think it unnatural. You simply have a hard time connecting the woman with the warrior, for she is indeed a warrior **and** a woman—a beautiful and strong one at that. If I thought **I** had a chance with her, I would not be so dismissive…"

"Do not speak to me of such things. It is not done in my culture. Women are priests, or…"

"Don't give me that, Sten. You just treated her so harshly because you don't know how to deal with your own feelings. Do **not** take it out on her. She is, by all possible meanings, **innocent**. Don't hurt her, or you will have **me** to deal with, qunari." Leliana said sternly.

Sten wanted to argue with her, but it was futile with Leliana. Her arguments run in circles and he could never win. He simply glared at her and walked through the darkness to his tent to put on his armor; he was on watch next.


	3. Chapter 3 A dinner invitation

He was standing there, watching all of them sitting around the fire and chirping like birds. Fortunately, tonight was Leliana's turn to cook dinner. Every meal she made seemed a feast regardless of what she cooked. It's too bad she didn't know how to make the "cookies." Alistair's nights were the worst; usually some gray mass of sludge that only he and the kadan could stomach. The way they slurped their food down was sometimes difficult to watch.

"Sten," calls Wynne, "would you please run down by the falls and let Kadaani know that supper is ready? She is washing some of her clothes and we wouldn't want her to miss a hot meal."

"Yes, Senior Enchanter." _Anything to get away from the chattering voices at the campfire, _he thought.

As he stepped away to the tree line, he missed the smirking, conspiratorial glance between Leliana and Wynne. Zevran continued joking with Oghren, observed this exchange.

As Sten walked toward the small waterfall only a short hike through the woods, he thought about the small woman he took to calling kadan. He was always surprised at the irony of her name. She was a wonder in opposites. When he had met her, she had frustrated him with her immaturity and single-mindedness. Over the last few months, he had seen her grow into her leadership role and become impressed with how much more the warrior she had always purported to be.

It seemed she was always annoying him with her simple and inane questions; it always brought him satisfaction to frustrate her with his simple monosyllabic responses. Always responding simply, and driving her towards thoughts and feelings she seemed to never come to on her own. Amusing as this was, he was becoming impressed with her ability to respond clearly and was beginning to truly respect her. Even after the incident in camp before they went up the mountain to the small village of Haven.

He was thinking such thoughts as he caught sight of the mist from the falls over the trees. He was readying himself to call out as he rounded the last tree, when the sound caught in his throat. He saw her standing in the falls, rinsing soap out of her mahogany hair. She looked like a water sprite; her white skin gleamed in the moonlight, water droplets glistening like small diamonds refracting the light. She could be a goddess, if he had actually believed in such things.

He could see the clothing she had been washing strung over the lower branches of the trees near the small pool out of the corner of his eye. But, he could not take his eyes off her form. She was lovely; all curves and convexes and simple white skin. His skin felt hot and his chest was tight. He shook with desire and a savage urgency to bolt back to his tent. Just as he was readying to force himself to turn away, she looked up and saw him standing there. They both froze.

She took a step forward and dropped like a rock into the pool. Sten ran to her while searching the tree line and opening his senses for intruders. _What happened? Are we under attack? _He heard nothing from the woods or from the camp and he saw no blood in the water, but he was still anxious that she may have fallen and struck her head.

Tensing his legs, he gave an almighty push and leapt into the pool. He pulled against the light current, his armor dragging against him, and rushed to where she had fallen. He saw a slight glimpse of the red of her hair and lunged. He felt her arm and pulled her up, concerned that he would hurt her further. When she surfaced, she was unconscious and barely breathing. He tore off his gauntlets and swiftly checked her for wounds, noticing in a small part of his mind how soft and cool her skin felt against his hands. He found a small bump on her head and some scrapes on her back, but not enough to prevent her from waking. He slapped her on the back, roughly enough to push her forward into his arm. She coughed gently at first, then harder, water streaming from her mouth.

"Kadan, do you hear me? Kadan?" Sten queried urgently.

"Hmm, yes. I'm f-f- fine." she responds quietly, still coughing a bit and gasping for breath.

"Are you injured?"

"No. I am **fine**. Give me a moment. You can just going over there by the trees and I'll get my breath back and clothes together."

"No, kadan. I cannot leave you here."

With that, Sten picked her up and carried her by the tree that held her washing. He was anxious for her and still struggling slightly against the desire the sight of her had brought about before. She struggled pitiably, muttering that she could walk. He could see a blush creeping up her neck. S_o beautiful,_ he thought, _like the flowers I picked in Redcliffe_.

He swiped a blanket from a branch while walking by and gently wrapped her in it. She was beginning to shake.

He was becoming uncomfortable with her proximity and was afraid she could hear the pounding of his heart. Why did this have to happen again? She was the leader and a true warrior, and he did not want a repeat of the fight in Haven… If only she didn't vacillate so much!

He quickly unbuckled and pulled off his breast plate, then ripped off his tunic to cover her with. He thought he saw her inhale quickly and dip down to smell the shirt. He stomach tightened. _My imagination is overactive. Perhaps seeing her like this is making me see other things that are not there,_ he thinks.

"I will run back to the camp, kadan, and retrieve some more blankets and dry clothes. Why would you wash all of your clothes when it is so cold?"

"Hmm, no, it is not necessary to go back to the camp; my dry clothing is on the other side of the pool," she whispered.

He looked up and saw there on the other side were her toweling blanket, under things and sleeping robe.

"One moment, I will grab them. It appears my gauntlets are over there as well," he mutters.

She reached out a hand. "Please, tarry a moment," she whispers. "Please, just hold me for a moment more for me to warm." She coughs again.

"What happened, kadan? Why did you fall?" Sten questions while picking her up and scooting her onto his lap.

"I...I slipped." She mumbles, almost too quietly for him to hear, blushing profusely.

She lifts her face and presses it into his chest to better warm herself. He wraps his arms around her to warm her faster. His heart begins to pound, but does his best to ignore it. _She does not want or need this from you,_ he thinks, _remember…_

Her face is resting just above his breast, and he feels her heartbeat through his shirt.

"I looked up...and saw ... you ... standing there...I...was ashamed ... that you would see...me..."

_Ashamed that he would see her unclothed; that he would see her as a woman? Did she think he was a monster; unable to control himself?_

He did not realize that he had said all of this out loud until she responded.

"No, Sten, I do not think you a monster...I did not want you to see me as less than your leader simply because you had vivid proof that I was a woman." She said in a quiet, matter-of-fact tone.

He jumped slightly as he felt the breath from her words against his breast. His stomach tightened again. He felt every inch of her torso, naked beneath his tunic, pressed against his chest. Her small hands were sliding slowly up and down his sides. Her heart is pounding against his chest in concert with his own. His feels an impossible warmth in his chest and he wonders what she would think if she knew the thoughts in his head._ Probably yell at me again, _he thought with a mental smile.

He reached up to pull her off his lap, and stops with his hands under her arms. She is small enough that the slightest movement has brought his palm in contact with her small breasts. She stiffens and her breath stops in her throat. He pauses and looks down. She is perfectly motionless, gazing up at him from beneath her lashes. He feels her move toward him slightly in invitation and he cannot contain himself.

Sten picks her up further and crushes her to his chest, while his mouth seeks out hers. At first, he just inhales her scent; an unusual mixture of vanilla and the mint leaves she chews. They breathe together for the briefest of moments, and then they crash together; lips and teeth and tongues mixing and fighting and swirling in a mass. Their breathing is harsh and ragged. Kadaani has wrapped herself so tightly to him, he had a hard time telling where he ends and she begins.

He was beginning to feel the swelling, gorging feeling...and he knew nothing else; nothing more than her breath mixing with his, her scent and softness and the hardness underneath it all. He tore his mouth away.

"No, Kadaani..." he began in his most stern voice.

"Yes!"

She pulls his head back down to hers. He will not be able to fight much longer. There is no delicacy in him, he whispers raggedly between kisses. She bites him on his neck and he groans in her ear, then running her tongue up to his ear. He feels her pressing herself against him. His armor is becoming very uncomfortable, which finally allows some rational thought to enter his mind.

"Kadan! Stop! You must listen. You know not what you are doing!"

"Sten, I know exactly what I am doing. I want you. Let me have my chance."

His stomach does a flip inside. "You realize that your mating rituals are not the same as that of a qunari? That I could hurt you?"

"Don't be foolish. I spoke to Zevran about it; they are **nothing** different than human rituals other than the feelings associated with them."

"The elf," he tears out savagely. Then, in shock, "You understand? You would risk it?"

"There is nothing to risk. I **want** you." She says forcefully. She emphasizes this by biting his ear and raking her teeth down his neck.

He shudders, almost losing himself. Rumors from the Antivan are not the qunari reality, what would the elf really know? Another thought strikes him.

"Was this prearranged with Leliana and Wynne?" he asks in his most severe tone, while pushing her from him.

"Prearranged?" she asks perplexedly, while sitting up. "No, what do you mean?"

He tries a different tack. "Why would you ask Zevran such a thing? What is the point? You made yourself clear weeks ago." He was becoming angry and was beginning to feel more clear-headed.

Sensing that he was simply becoming angry, she responded. "I…I cannot think clearly enough to answer sitting this close to you," she says. "Please, sit. I will not accost you again. One moment, please, is all I ask."

With this, she gets lithely to her feet and steps toward the river. Still a little shaky, she walks down about fifty feet and crosses on small stepping stones that hide just beneath the surface of the river. She heads back toward the falls, picking up Sten's discarded gauntlets on the way, to gather her dry gear from the tree.

She is lovely, and he has a hard time not watching each movement she makes. He sees her watching him from the corner of her eyes, and he feigns interest in the falls and the mist above. The moonlight sparkles off the water everywhere. He settles back on his elbows and stretches his legs to make himself more comfortable.

He sees her make her careful way back over the river and cross to him. She steps behind him and he hears the rustle of her cotton pants sliding over her legs. He closes his eyes as he imagines what the soft brown pant is covering, barely stifling a groan. But, he does not entirely trust her motives any more. Why the covert actions with dinner? If she had no idea and there was not a conspiracy between them, why had no one come to look for them?

His thoughts occupied enough of his attention that he was more centered by the time she came around him again, handing him his tunic. He nodded to her, and lifted his arms to put the shirt back on. He nearly missed her expression while she watched his chest and arms while he put the shirt on. Her expression filled with desire. It was enough to make the muscles in his chest and stomach tighten almost painfully, heat pooling in his belly.

"I am ready, kadan."

"I did not think you would still call me thus. I was afraid that you would again see me as the foolish, immature girl that found you in Lothering."

"Do not mistake me. I respect your skills and recognize your leadership. Do not make me see you as less with untruths." Sten said sternly.

"Untruths? What do you mean? Speak plainly!" She cried.

"Is this…am I another conquest for you? I've seen you with the Antivan, and then the bumbling templar. Last week, I saw you and the Orlesian _Vashedan_ sitting closely together by the fire, whispering in one another's ears...I am no fool, I know what she is and what she would like from you. So what is the meaning of bringing forth this..._inappropriate_...conduct between you and me?" Sten asks, the faintest glimmer of anger appearing in his eyes and heat rolling in his voice. "You made clear that you were untouched and uninterested…" he trails off.

"Zevran was a...mistake. You know I had never been with a man, and he seemed...safe; less of a risk to my emotions." She says delicately while looking up at the night sky. "I do not know how to explain this very well, but I will try. I have no idea what the future will bring, but I knew I did not want to leave this world without tasting..." here she stopped, blushing so hard her face was close to the same color as her drying hair. She cleared her throat and went on. "As for Alistair...I have never been intimate with Alistair. He was under the impression that I felt something for him that I do not. I could not...not when I...no matter. And Leliana is a very _dear_ friend. She is the sister I always dreamed of having when I was a girl. I miss my brother dearly, and she has become the family I lost."

She looked up at him, unshed tears glistening in her fierce eyes. "Ever since Lothering, I have been unable to think of any man without seeing white blonde hair, fierce violet eyes, and bronze skin. Zevran knew, but took me anyway. He...somehow knew...what I needed...wanted, and offered to help me. I thought there was no chance with you. I knew what you thought of me, you see. I was unable to think, to do anything but feel, and I had...**have**...a job to do! I have a duty to Ferelden; I told you thus once, remember. I needed to clear you out of my mind, however I could." Here she stopped.

Kadaani looked up into the star-filled sky, gathering her thoughts. "It didn't work very well…" Her eyes were distant when she appeared to look back at Sten.

"I overheard a conversation between you and Morrigan about...mating. I heard what you told her about thinking about her proposition. It made me **feel**__**ill **to think of you two together... Then I couldn't get the picture of wearing armor out of my head. Is it true, I wondered? So I asked Leliana...and then Zevran.

"Leliana told me that it was probably just your sardonic humor to make Morrigan leave you alone, but she was unsure if there were any truth to what you had said. Zevran was there, so I finally went to him for answers. He knew about your mating rituals. He had learned about it while with the Crows. He knew how I felt about you as well...I trusted his opinion and his advice.

"When I was bathing this evening, I was thinking about how I could get you out of my mind. I **knew** what I was, and I knew what I could never be to you. But somehow you were standing there, staring at me....looking at me the way I have always dreamed. I actually thought it _**was**_ a dream, but you did not disappear when I blinked my eyes. When I realized that it was, in fact, really you, I wanted to come to you. But, lucky me, I took a misstep and you had to save me. **Again!**" She looked at the ground again, her face tight with tension and pain.

"I know what is expected of me. I know **what** to expect, and I know I want you regardless of it all...or of what you may think of me now.

"I do not want you to see me with less than the respect I have fought to earn from you, and I hope to the Maker that this conversation does not ruin that either. I have fought and won the battle of my desire so many times, I am unsure what will happen because of my indiscretion tonight. And, I am frightened of it."

"Frightened of me? Of what I may do? That I would say yes and you would have to go through with it? Or that I would lose respect for you?" he asks, anxious to hear her response, but unsure why.

"No, I am not frightened of you. You have risked yourself over and over for my sake. I know you would do what it takes to protect me...anywhere. No, I am frightened that you will leave, that you will no longer respect me, that I will lose the only bit I have of you..."

Sten looks up at this. His stomach is in knots. "You have **no** idea what the qunari mating ritual is, unless you have been with a qunari."

"Zevran has." She says quietly. "The Crows captured a warrior from the Beresaad, and Zevran seduced him. The sten explained what was involved, in detail, to Zevran, when prompted. I know, Sten."

"He was no qunari!"

"It was Thedrall; written off as _Tal'Vashoth_, but this was not so and you know it."

Sten blanched. _How did they know?_ Then, on top of that, _she __**does**__ know._

Kadaani watches the expressions play across his broad features. She is hot all over, and feels her heart pounding. She wants to truly be his kadan; his heart and his center. Even if just for a time; Kadaani understood Sten better than he thought. She knows that is not his way, but she can be persuasive when she needs to be.

"I can only say that I want no one else…**I want you**…in my bed, as my lover, as my strength through these difficult times."

_But, she smells like cookies,_ he thought. _The women of the Qun do NOT smell like cookies. That is foolish._ He does not know if he means she is foolish or if he is. He feels the heat as she watches him.

He presses his hands to the ground and begins to rise to his knees. He sees her head drop and her chin hits her chest. He pauses, unsure what he should do, but he knows what he wants...what he has wanted from the first moment he saw her in her blood covered leather.

With a groan, he leans in and grasps her under her arms and pulls her on his lap. This has become a war he can fight no longer...

There is no heat this time; it has become an inferno. She gasps his name as her pulls her flush against his chest. He feels her breasts crush between them and inhales deeply. He smells the sweetness of her breath and hair. She smells fresh (_like cookies_) and clean. He feels her heart speed up and pound furiously against his chest. Its beat almost matches his. She is searching his face, what she is looking for, he knows not. He is almost beyond caring.

She leans in and softly presses her open mouth to his and waits, simply breathing. The thought rages into his mind, wondering if she learned this from the elf.

As if reading his mind, she says, "I have always wanted to taste you. You smell like cake to me..."

Just then he is grateful that he is not her first, as he would have no wish for hurt to come to her, and finally realizes what she has known... the violence this act usually holds will not be an issue. He is strong enough to do this and not break her. He relaxed his grip and sat back on his heels, with Kadaani still on his lap. He looked down into her eyes, surprised at what he saw there. Tears were shimmering in her eyes.

"I am not saying no, I am merely repositioning us. I need to feel you...without my armor in the way."

She eagerly slid off his lap and began to unbelt the straps holding rest of his plate in place. Soon, she had the first leg off, and helped him pull off the second. He stood to remove his boots and she stood behind him, grabbing hold of his hips and sliding her hands up his sides, then back down again and forward to his stomach, lightly scratching him with her short nails. He slipped off the other boot, and quickly turned to pull her to him. The he picked her up and walked to the water.

"What are you doing?" She asked while kissing his chest.

"I would like to bathe as well. Help me, please. It will be…safer…this way, I think."

He pulled off his socks in one quick move and she lifted his tunic, waiting for him to raise his arms. He bent down to pull off the deerskin pants she just recently put back on. He grasped the back and slowly slid the material down her smooth hips, gently scraping his nails along her backside. She thrust her hips and he planted a kiss on her hipbone. He felt her tremble quietly as she groaned his name again. He saw and smelled her thus, she was intoxicating. He stood and lifted her shirt over her head, watching appreciatively the movement of her muscles with the action. She began to pull down his leggings, but he stopped her. She looked up and he smirked at her.

"Not yet."

He pulled her to him and crushed her mouth with his own. She opened her mouth to him, breathing fast. He picked her up and pressed her close; her feet rose almost a foot off the ground. She wrapped her legs around his waist and clung desperately.

He moved his mouth to her neck, gently biting and scraping his teeth; tasting her fresh scent, feeling it surround him.

"Hold on," he said, and reached down to lower his leggings, with her legs gripping his waist. "Do you think they will wonder where we are?"

She didn't have to ask who, but said, "They will think you are chastising me again about something I did in Haven, or something else you disagreed with... Or, maybe, they know and will give us some damn privacy!"

His face tightens slightly with the mention of her delaying tactics, but relaxes as he looks again in her eyes. He makes a noncommittal sound in the back of his throat, kicks off his leggings, and walks slowly to the water.

The water feels warm to his overheated skin as he walks in with her on his waist. He enjoys looking at the difference of their skin tones. His skin looks so dark next to her paleness. He feels her warm breath as she licks the underside of his chin. The feelings make his stomach clench, and he can hold it in no longer.

"Did the elf teach you all of these things?"

"The elf? Oh...no, he was too smooth...too soft. He tickled my feet, but...that was it." She sounded ashamed.

"Do not mistake me. I am unconcerned about that. I am simply enjoying your...unusual tactics."

She giggled (giggled!), and said, "Me then. You smell so wonderful and I always see that part under your chin when we talk and I have always wondered what it would taste like."

He felt himself harden further.

"Where is that soap?" he asked.

"Are you sure you want to use it? It's the Orlesian soap Leliana bought for me for the Summer Moon."

"It smells like you. I want it." The intensity of his words made her insides liquify.

"Hmm… Next to the falls, I believe. On the rock outcropping on the opposite side." She whispered.

He grabbed her, pulled her legs from around his waist and placed her flush against his heated body.

"Are you sure this is what you want? I do not know if I will be able to ask you this again." His voice was stiff with disapproval.

"I want you, Sten. Anything and everything you are willing to give me." She squirmed against his body as if trying to fit closer.

"Good. I will tell you that I want the same; whatever you give me **belongs** to me."

He held her bottom to him and wrapped his other hand in the hair at her nape to pull her mouth to his. He ravaged her mouth with a kiss so intense, Kadaani was glad he held her. She felt his muscles pull taut and harden against her skin. He ran his tongue around her lips, and kissed her again.

He pulled her legs back up and wrapped them around his waist, patting them to let her know to hold on, and reached behind to grab the soap. He placed his hands under the falls and lathered his hands. He grabbed her hands and lathered them with his and the soap. He set the soap back on the ledge and began to massage her back; in alternating large and small intertwining circles. When he reached her shoulders, he slid his hands down her arms and grasped her hands, pulling them to his back and leaving them there. She understood and tried to mimic the circular massage he had given her. With growing realization, she felt his muscles become harder and he grew more turgid. This is something Zev did not know, unless this was Sten alone.

Sten grabbed the soap again and lathered their hands. He began working on her chest and she mimicked his movements again. The circles on her skin were making her feel loose yet tight. Her whole body was on fire! When Sten reached her breasts, she moaned and leaned back slightly. Her hands fell motionless while she immersed herself in the feelings Sten was giving her. For such large hands, he had incredible delicacy, no matter what he said. He pushed and pulled, lifted and pressed; it was exotic and wonderful. She remembered that he wanted her to do the same thing.

She leaned forward slowly and began kneading his chest with her small hands. It was fortunate that she had worked the sword and shield for most of her life; his muscles were like rocks. But as she massaged, she felt the same feeling he had given her, come to him. He stretched his chest and leaned into her touch. She did not even realize that he had stopped moving, his hands idle on her hips, until his breath became more ragged.

Sten shifted and pulled her onto him swiftly and mercilessly. Kadaani cried out and flung her head back; her face full of ecstasy. He ran his thumbs over her hips, gently squeezing and pushing. She pushed her feet on his buttocks and helped him move her. She leaned back; Sten pulled her hips into himself. He squeezed her hips again, pushing and pulling, then dropped them both into the water. Kadaani gasped when the cool water connected, but continued to let him guide her. She leaned forward and grabbed the back of his head and pulled him down into a fierce kiss.

She took control of the movements, rocking them both. Sten leaned back and she clawed his chest. He charged forward and scraped her breast and nipple with his teeth. He pulled her into his mouth and she clenched and cried out. Sten groaned and dropped to his knees.

She clasped her legs around him again and kissed him, as fierce as ever. Their tongues tangled and they fought one another for control. Sten ground her hips so hard she felt as if they would break. She tightened her legs and flung her head back. He drove her so hard, but she kept up relentlessly; a tigress demanding. Their breath was coming in gasps and neither thought they could hold on much longer.

"Sten...." she gasped. They lost what control they both had and plunged to the end together.


End file.
